discriminate
discriminate — verb
1. to treat someone unfairly by giving them fewer opportunities, less respect, or p
to treat someone unfairly by giving them fewer opportunities, less respect, or poorer service than others, because of a characteristic such as their race, gender, age, religion, or disability, rather than judging them as an individual
The company discriminated against older workers by passing them over for promotions and bonuses.
pattern: discriminate against + [group] + by doing something
Some landlords still discriminate against families with children despite laws against it.
Many countries have made it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities.
The school discriminated against Naoko's son by failing to provide proper learning support.
Employers in many countries cannot legally discriminate based on a person's sexual orientation.
- single out
implies being treated differently from others, which may or may not be negative; 'discriminate' always carries a negative judgment
- victimize
stronger and more personal — suggests active harm, while 'discriminate' can describe impersonal systems or policies
- show bias against
less direct and more euphemistic; 'discriminate' names the action plainly
- treat equally
phrasal; the direct opposite of treating someone worse due to a group characteristic
文法句型
discriminate against + person/group
discriminate on the basis of + characteristic
discriminate on grounds of + characteristic
用法筆記
Typically paired with the preposition 'against' to name the affected person or group. Most common in legal, workplace, and social-justice contexts. This sense always carries a negative judgment — it is not used for neutral or positive differentiation.
常見錯誤
2. to notice or recognize the ways in which two or more things, people, or ideas ar
to notice or recognize the ways in which two or more things, people, or ideas are not the same — for example, telling apart two similar colors, sounds, or flavors
Babies can discriminate between different sounds from a very early age.
pattern: discriminate between [categories]
Researchers taught the monkeys to discriminate between different shapes on a screen.
Otis finds it hard to discriminate between real butter and margarine in a taste test.
Computers can be trained to discriminate between spam and regular email messages.
A good wine taster can discriminate subtle differences in flavor that most people miss.
- distinguish
more common in everyday use; 'discriminate' in this sense sounds more formal or technical
- differentiate
very similar in meaning but appears more often in scientific or analytical writing
- tell apart
the informal phrasal alternative; natural in conversation
- confuse
to fail to see the difference between two things
文法句型
discriminate between + two items
discriminate among + three or more items
discriminate + direct object
用法筆記
Often takes 'between' when naming two specific items, or 'among' for three or more. Can also be used transitively with a direct object ('discriminate subtle differences'). In everyday conversation, 'tell apart' or 'distinguish' is more natural — this sense belongs mainly in formal, academic, or technical writing.